This invention relates to a machine for forming hay into large cylindrical bales.
Although machines for rolling hay or the like into cylindrical bales have been known for considerable time, such machines have gained considerable popularity recently, the machine rolling the hay into relatively large bales of 1,000 pounds or more to eliminate some of the labor associated with handling the smaller or more conventional rectangular bales. Such cylindrical balers can be divided into two general types, namely machines that elevate the crop material from the ground and roll the hay into a bale while it is supported above the ground, and machines that simply roll the hay along the ground in snowball fashion, forming the bale on the ground. The former machines have the advantages of forming a tighter, more dense bale, which can be wrapped with twine after the bale is formed by feeding twine to the baling mechanism and continuing to rotate the bale while the machine is stationary. The twine wrapped bales, of course, are more durable. Also, in such machines, the bales can be transported in the machine after they are formed for discharge at any desired location. On the other hand, the ground rolling machines are generally simpler and consequently less expensive and easier to maintain. An example of the former type machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,197, while an example of the latter type machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,215.